Former Wilton Youth Ministry Worker Accused of Child Sex Crimes

By Stephanie Kim
CT Post
January 6, 2017

http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Former-Wilton-church-worker-arrested-for-child-10840832.php

Ethan Chandler, 42, of Belleville, N.J.

New Jersey State Police are seeking help in locating additional victims of Ethan Chandler, 42, of Belleville, N.J, who was arrested on child sex charges.

Chandler lived in Norwalk, Stamford and Monroe during the mid-1990s, officials said, and used to work part-time at Hope Church in Wilton.

Cliffe Knechtle, who was an associate and senior pastor at Hope Church from 1989 to 2000, said Chandler worked part-time in music and later became more involved in youth ministry after he left.

Knechtle said they haven’t talked since the news of Chandler’s arrest. He described Chandler as a “very kind, very warm gentleman.”

“When I was there, he did an outstanding job,” said Knechtle, who’s been the senior pastor of Grace Community Church in New Canaan since its founding in 2001. “I pray that if they are false accusations, that they be dropped; if they are true, then he would face the truth and come clean and repent and get back on the track of following Christ.”

Chandler was initially arrested Dec. 1 at his apartment on the charge of second-degree luring a child. Police said it was the result of an undercover investigation that caught Chandler attempting to lure an individual he believed was a 13-year-old boy for a sexual encounter through a mobile chat app called Kik. The “boy” was an undercover detective who responded to a Craigslist ad that Chandler allegedly posted for oral sex with a young man.

After posting bail and being released from Essex County jail, Chandler was arrested again six days later on new charges of second-degree sexual assault and fourth-degree criminal sexual contact, in connection to a 14-year-old boy he met online on a social media site. These alleged sexual assaults were revealed from evidence police obtained through a search warrant at Chandler’s apartment during his initial arrest on Dec. 1, police said.

Chandler was lodged in Essex County jail with bail set at $200,000.

“The allegations against Chandler reveal a dangerous sexual predator who used social media to satiate his desire for young victims,” New Jersey Attorney General Christopher Porrino said in a statement. “We’ll continue to protect children by patrolling the Internet and diligently pursuing all leads to arrest this type of tech-savvy predator.”

The New Jersey State Police and Division of Criminal Justice will continue their investigation and said they have obtained additional information that Chandler “allegedly sent nude photos of himself to at least three juveniles and may have been having sexual relations with another 14-year-old male.”

Officials are also aware of Chandler’s previous arrest on Feb. 22, 2014, by the Livingston Police Department in New Jersey, after he was discovered in the Livingston Mall bathroom kissing a young man who appeared to be a minor and pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.

Chandler operates a video production company in South Orange, N.J., that films high school sporting events across the region, called Primetime Sports, LLC, which puts him into close contact with children, police said.

Detectives have determined that Chandler lived in Bergen, Essex, and Morris counties while living in New Jersey and also lived in Davidson County, Tenn., during the mid-1990s.

Anyone with information is asked to call the New Jersey State Police Digital Technology Investigations Unit at 609-584-5051 ext. 5624 or to email hitech@gw.njsp.org.